Tufts expert in favor of clinical drug trials on children
Controversy over the 1997 federal law that promotes the testing of clinical drugs on children is mounting, as the legislation is slated to expire this year. While a number of experts are against this practice, Christopher Milne, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, told the Los Angeles Times last week that he feels the benefits of these trials outweigh the costs.
The focus of the debate, Milne said, is the question of whether it is better to "test drugs on children or allow untested medications to be given to them" ("Putting children to the test," 4/16).
"There is this dilemma as to which situation presents the most risk," Milne said. "But I think the evidence is coming down on the side of testing these medications on children."
Milne points to the success of pediatric clinical trials in the past, citing advances in the study of anxiety disorders in children, as support for his view. "They're coming up with new sampling techniques that are less invasive and new ways to measure [results] that are more applicable to children," Milne said. Also, scientists are able to use these trials to learn about the effectiveness of different drug dosage levels in treating children.
Milne says pharmaceutical companies' lawsuit again South Africa is risky
Last Thursday, 39 pharmaceutical companies with patents on AIDS drugs decided to drop a lawsuit seeking to block a law that would allow the South African government to import or produce generic drugs rather than value the private companies' patents. Tufts' Christopher Milne found himself in the news once again this Monday when told the Times of India that the companies' decision to file suit in the first place was a risky one."The weight of public opinion was too great against the pharmaceutical companies, and even if they won, they wouldn't look good," Milne said ("Profits still plague AIDS drug companies," 4/23).
At the same time, had the companies lost, Milne said, the consequences likely would have been just as dire. "They would have opened the floodgates of countries wanting to import generics even wider," said Milne.
Though the case was dropped, the situation has sparked controversy over the ethics of profit-seeking AIDS companies, as well as the implications of the suit on the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and the public.
Tufts professor a vocal opponent to new antibacterial cleansing products
A growing group of scientists have come to the conclusion that there is in fact such a thing as being too clean. Tufts' Stuart Levey, a professor at the School of Medicine and director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance, is among the most vocal critics of new antibacterial soaps and other products.In an article in Monday's Chicago Tribune, Levey said that these cleansers can be dangerous because while getting rid of harmful bacteria, they also break down "good" bacteria. The products "could be promoting superbugs that might otherwise be kept in check," Levey said ("Are we clean out of our minds?" 4/22).
New synthetic products with antibacterial ingredients leave a residue that prevents good bacteria from reforming, according to Levey. Good bacteria is necessary to fight off germs in the intestinal tract, build up vitamins for the body, and protect the mouth and skin.
Levey said that mild soaps and cleansers are no less effective than antibacterial products, and suggested that stronger products should only be used when a member of the household is ill or has a compromised immune system. Wiping hands with a paper towel may actually be the most effective means of keeping clean, according to Levey, since the towel wipes organisms off the hand even if they are not killed.
China conflict a mark of repeated history: Fletcher professor says
Although the crew of the US Navy surveillance plane has returned from China, experts continue to analyze the implications of the crisis in a larger historical context. In an article published in the Boston Globe on April 15, Fletcher Professor Alan M. Wachman shared his views on the parallel between China's demand for a formal apology last month to the ancient Chinese tradition of kowtow, a ritual used as a sign of submission to the dynastic throne."China's leaders sought a verbal kowtow from Washington," Wachman wrote. By making the US submit to its request, "Beijing imagined that it would reinforce in the eyes of its own populace the respect it commands from the international community," ("Unbowed by history," 4/15).
Wachman compared the US scenario to history's recount of Lord Macartney's refusal to kowtow to the Qianlong emperor in 1793. The similarities between these two cases, he said, reflected the danger of each side thinking it had won over the other.
"The Macartney incident might have taught Beijing and Washington the danger of persuading themselves they had bested their adversary, while failing to address the underlying differences that remained," he wrote.
The Fletcher professor said that these differences led to war between England and China in the past, and that in the recent scenario with the US, Beijing did not in fact receive the apology it sought, "even if it now portrays it as the full kowtow it feels it deserves."
